
Thought for the day
Our Gospel today describes two very old people—Simeon and Anna—who are very attractive in their old age. They have lived prayerful lives of faith and, in particular, of hope and expectation. Being wise, they are people of discernment and they recognise the moment of grace, the coming of the Messiah. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be like them in old age? The secret is to be now what we hope to be then. If we wish to be serene, wise, discerning, full of faith—then now is the time: As St Paul says: “See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:2)
Prayer
Abba, Father, God of all time, you call us to become your children. Send your Holy Spirit into our hearts that we may live our faith serenely in the present moment and give us grace to recognise the time of your appearing.
Gospel
Jesus in the Temple
Luke 2:41 Now Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 But when the feast was over, as they were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but (because they assumed that he was in their group of travelers) they went a day’s journey. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Jesus were astonished at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were overwhelmed. His mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” 49 But he replied, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 Yet his parents did not understand the remark he made to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart.
Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.
Initial observations
This feast used to be called the Purification and this word is still mentioned at the very start of the reading (“to be purified” in the Jerusalem Bible). The change of name reflects perhaps a sensitivity around the whole idea of purification after childbirth, called churching in the not so distant past. It would not be helpful to dwell too much on this, but it can be under-stood at least from the point of view of cultural anthropology.
In ancient cultures (and still today), contact with the sacred or the Holy rendered one “impure”—not morally impure, of course, but ritually impure. The causes were various: contact with a corpse, any discharge of the fluids associated with procreation and, not least, childbirth itself. Two specific comments may help. (a) In those days, the sacred was considered both life-giving and dangerous. You can see why. In the days before antibiotics and good hygiene, infant mortality was high and death in childbirth common. The need to be purified was a real acknowledgement that the sacred has been encountered (true to the experience of parents today). (b) As a result, both mother and child underwent a period of absence from the community and had to be integrated safely, so to speak, by means of certain rituals. Thus the dangerous contact with the sacred was rendered safe for them and for others. See below Leviticus 12.
In this way, sense can be made of certain cultural practices, common in many religions, including classical Judaism. There is no going back to churching, of course, not least because the devision of persons, places and times into sacred and profane no longer makes any sense after the incarnation. The Letter to the Hebrews is a great help deepening our understanding of the effects of the incarnation such as the rendering obsolete of practices like purification after childbirth.
Kind of writing
The full scene, running from 4:14 to 4:30, is a Lucan symbolic tableau, which gives, in the manner of an overture, the themes and even the plot of the whole Gospel of Luke, including the negative reaction to the Gospel of inclusion and the eventual death and resurrection of the Messiah. It illustrates the tremendous skill of Luke as an author and, indeed, his freedom as a historian.
Old Testament background
Perhaps it is good to recall again that the Infancy Gospels in both Matthew and Luke are always written with four lenses: the Old Testament, history, Christology and ecclesiology.
(i) Old Testament: as we see the anecdotes reflect Old Testament practices such as purification and circumcision. It is also the case here that Luke writes in the Greek of the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, creating an atmosphere of Old Testament piety and expectation in the figures of Mary and Joseph and Simeon and Anna.
(ii) History: the purification of Mary and circumcision of Jesus are surely historical facts, even if no other early sources confirm them.
(iii) Christology: the stories are written always in the light of the Resurrection.
(iv) Ecclesiology: the writing reflects early Christian teaching about and exploration of the identity of Jesus, using Old Testament models and themes. The patterning of stories is clear from our experience of the previous texts.
New Testament foreground
See all of Luke 1-2.
St Paul
Galatians 4:4 But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God.
Brief commentary
Verses 22-24 There are three elements here: (a) purification—of the mother only, hence “their” is odd; (b) presentation of the child (not his redemption); offering of the child to God along the lines of Samuel. The child is not ransomed but presented (see Ex 13).
Verse 25-32 “Now” introduces the expected prophetic statement combining praise of God and an indication of the child’s destiny. The comfort or consolation is written written with Is 40:1ff. in mind. The consolation of Israel is precisely in the Messiah of the Lord. Simeon models the waiting of Israel for the coming Christ. In the hymn, to dismiss means to allow to die. The word salvation is rare in the New Testament (Luke 2:30; 3:6; Acts 28:28; Eph 6:17) and almost confined to the Lucan writings. Light is the key metaphor here. We are perhaps meant to think of Isaiah: The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Is 52:10) The coming of the Messiah includes glory. Cf. I bring near my deliverance, it is not far off, and my salvation will not tarry; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory. (Is 46:13) In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory. (Is 45:25)
Verses 33-35 There is a blessing for the parents, with a particular part addressed to Mary. Jesus’ ministry will have two effects: acceptance and rejection. Behind the language of falling may lie the much used metaphor of the stumbling block, found widely in the New Testament. The parenthesis in v. 35 here is as awkward in Greek as in English and may be editorial.
Verses 36-40 Considerable emphasis is placed on Anna’s advanced age and well attested piety. “At that very moment” is a frequent phrase in Luke 10:21; 12:12; 13:31; 20:19; 24:33 Acts 16:18; 22:13. To praise here comprises recognition, obedience and proclamation, all done in public. V. 40 is a second “conclusion” of sorts (cf. 1:80 and 2:52). The emphasis on growth, physical, spiritual and social, goes against a constant tendency in the tradition to underplay the very real humanity of Jesus.
Pointers for prayer
1. It was a day that started without any expectation of something unusual. It turned out to be a day with a meeting they would remember for a long time. Perhaps you have had significant meetings on what you expected to be just an ordinary day?
2. Simeon gave thanks because his eyes saw the salvation God had prepared. In what ways have you experienced God’s salvation in your life: an experience of being loved, or discovering a sense of purpose in life, or being touched by the wonders of creation? Give thanks for those memories.
3. Simeon also acknowledged that not all would accept the light that would shine through Jesus, and this rejection would be a cause of pain to Mary. It can be a source of pain to parents, teachers, church ministers, and all who work for others when some reject values, projects, advice which would be for their good. Even within ourselves we can be aware of division, at times being open to the light of God and at other times resisting it. Have you known the pain of that struggle? What has helped you to keep seeking the light of God in your life?
4. The final sentence speaks of Jesus as one who grew and became strong and was filled with wisdom. Recall times when you had a sense of growing up in some way. What brought that about? Think also of how you have seen growth in another person.
Prayer
Inspired by your Spirit, Lord, we gather in your temple to welcome your Son. Enlighten our minds and lay bare our inmost thoughts. Purify your people, and make us obedient to the demands of your law, so that we may mature in wisdom and grow to full stature in your grace. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.